The Karnataka High Court issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocates Association Bengaluru challenging the financial aid scheme framed by Karnataka State Bar Council for distribution of the state grant of Rs 5 crore to the needy advocates as being unreasonable and unfair.
The plea filed through Advocate Anil Kumar states that the state government has without reasoning and without applying its mind hastily disposed of the representations without considering the plight of lawyers for financial aid scheme.
It has sought to quash and set aside the scheme framed on August 26, by the State Bar Council stating that discriminatory conditions were imposed for the lawyers seeking financial assistance. Under the said scheme lady advocates, lawyers above 40 years of age and those enrolled after January 1, 2010 are not eligible for seeking financial aid scheme.
The plea seeks to release a sum of Rs 100 crore as a package to help the lawyers community in the state.
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Further, it seeks to quash the order passed by the government on August 20, in so far as it relates to the wording “The Bar Council consisting of advocates may use a part of the amount to assist the advocates clerks and the government cannot consider the representations of the bar Councils of other districts and provide separate financial assistance to the advocates clerks.”
The petition mentions that the State of Andhra Pradesh has announced a package of Rs.100 crores for its lawyers and already Rs 25 core has been released. Likewise other state governments across the country have considered the difficulties faced by their lawyers in their state.
The matter will be further heard on September 28.
